Why one Mumsnet user went back to teaching after four years away

Claire* always knew teaching was for her. Growing up, she was inspired by her own educators and was driven by a lifelong love of English. “I was drawn to the profession because of the wonderful teaching I was lucky enough to experience as a student. My teachers were incredibly influential in my growth as a person, so I hoped to have the same impact,” she explains.

“I have also always possessed a love of the written word, so wished to impart this to a new generation. I knew I wanted my degree to be incorporated into my everyday life, so teaching was the natural next step.”

Claire trained with the Mid Somerset Consortium, gaining a PGCE through Bath Spa University, and started teaching English to 11 to 16-year-olds in 2018. But her early teaching experience wasn’t without its struggles.

“I found my NQT year, as it was called at that time, incredibly challenging. I had become used to the constant support and monitoring I had received during my training year, which utterly evaporated when I started teaching in earnest. I was overwhelmed with the enormous pressure to perform perfectly, especially with regards to GCSE results.”

New teachers now receive two years of development support and training based on the Initial teacher training and early career framework (ITTECF). This includes 10% off their timetable in the first year and 5% off in the second year for training and mentoring, bridging the gap between initial teacher training (ITT) and a teaching career.

Taking a break from teaching

After just one year, Claire made the difficult decision to step away from teaching, wanting to experience life beyond the classroom—and beyond education altogether.

“I found that my job was becoming my entire life and felt that I was missing out on being in my early 20s. As I had only ever worked part-time throughout school and university, I wanted to experience a different work environment.” she shared. “I had gone straight from student to teacher but had never left the world of education.”

Her first stop was a temp job at a law firm. “For six weeks, I arrived at work, scanned my documents whilst listening to music in my earphones, and went home. I did not, for a single second, think about my job outside of work hours and the job itself was delightfully straightforward. It was instantly refreshing as I had absolutely no pressure (something alien to me in teaching).”

She then worked in hospital administration at Dorset County Hospital—a role she enjoyed, despite the long commute and the pressures of the COVID-19 pandemic. “I loved the organisational aspect of the job, but missed the autonomy and creativity of teaching.”

Later, Claire returned to the law firm as a Legal Secretary, eventually becoming a Legal Assistant. While she thrived on the attention to detail the job required, it still didn’t quite feel right. “I found my experience of the private sector a very interesting comparison, but did not feel comfortable in a world of targets, billing, and competition.”

Having a supportive team as a teacher makes a huge difference

In 2023, a message from a former colleague gave her the nudge she needed to consider returning to teaching. “I had been considering jumping back into the foray for some time (but not vocalising this) when my moment of fate occurred: my previous Head of Department informed me of a vacancy. I decided that I would give it one more chance.”

Her return wasn’t without its challenges, though, including an Ofsted inspection within the first month. “I was back in the profession for about a month when we had our Ofsted inspection, which was pretty panic inducing”, she shared. “Unfortunately, the stress these inspections cause is still very much an issue. There was a noticeable sense of relief across the school when the inspection had been completed.”

Inspections can feel daunting for teachers like Claire. The arrangements have changed since her experience, and inspections no longer lead to a single headline grade. Those grades were not helpful to parents and caused unnecessary pressure for schools. Further change is expected in the autumn following Ofsted’s recent open consultation on proposals for a renewed approach to the way inspections are conducted and reported.

Despite the initial challenges Claire faced, having a supportive team made a big difference. “My wonderful colleagues in my department were endlessly supportive. When I experienced the all-too-familiar imposter syndrome, they reassured me time and time again.”

Planning ahead helped too. “I need to be prepared in order to feel in control, so I spent lots of time planning over the summer. I left my job in August and started back teaching in September, so I had a few weeks to get myself organised.”

Rebuilding confidence as a teacher

The early weeks back were difficult, but the 28-year-old gradually found her feet again. “For a good three months, I did feel on the edge of constant panic. My admin roles involved ‘behind the scenes’ work, but now I was well and truly in the spotlight again. It’s an understatement to say that I doubted my decision to return! However, things did settle down after Christmas and I began to feel more at home in the role.”

And with that new sense of ease came a new perspective. “I don’t think people truly appreciate how much work is involved in planning engaging lessons. A large part of behaviour management lies in being prepared and maintaining students’ focus, all of which takes time. I did have some material from my NQT year which I could draw on and adapt, but I was essentially a new teacher again.”

This time, she found a level of support that was missing during her earlier teaching experience. “I experienced a sense of camaraderie which was absent from my NQT year and I began to realise that everyone, even experienced teachers, feel the sense of imposter syndrome.” 

Thankfully, there’s now more support available for teachers than ever before. The Department for Education has published resources to help schools with curriculum planning and delivery, and with workload and wellbeing  with the aim of easing workload and boosting staff wellbeing. Teachers can also access free, time-saving lesson materials from Oak National Academy – a helpful lifeline when you’re navigating your way back into the classroom.

- Mumsnetter

Claire has also noticed new challenges in the profession. “The challenges presented by AI are becoming increasingly evident in education. This is most obviously shown through homework. Students are beginning to rely on machines doing their thinking for them, rather than experiencing the struggle of grappling with not understanding something and then overcoming it.”

Despite the demands, she has reconnected with the parts of teaching that made her fall in love with it in the first place. “As a lover of literature, my favourite part of my job is reading a text, any text, with students and discussing it. Their varied interpretations are always surprising and refreshing. It’s the most wonderful feeling when they’re drawn into a text and genuinely engage.”

Returning to teaching might be easier than you think

And she’s found meaning outside of the classroom too. “Being a tutor is also one of the most rewarding aspects of the job. Supporting students in a pastoral sense is very different and sometimes challenging, but seeing a group of students grow as people is a privilege.”

Claire manages the workload now through organisation and perspective. “I mark pieces of work as soon as possible, in order to prevent work from piling up. It also enables me to provide timely feedback for the students.

“If I am feeling overwhelmed, a walk with my partner is enough to take me away from my to-do list and gain some perspective.”

“Time healed the wound”

When asked if she feels more confident and better equipped to teach now, Claire agreed: “Certainly. I think my case is an example of time healing a wound. I do think being older and gaining some ‘real life’ experience helped me, as teaching is no longer my entire life as it once was. It is part of my identity, but it does not consume me in the way it once did.”

There have already been moments that have made her return feel worthwhile. “With teaching, it’s comments from individual students or parents that make everything worthwhile.”

One standout moment came last July: her students asked to have her again the following year—a simple but powerful reminder of the difference she’s making.

If she could go back in time and give her younger self one piece of advice? “There’s a lot to be said for perspective. A single ‘bad’ lesson with a challenging group was previously enough to ruin my entire week. Now, I can understand it for what it is. There are peaks and there are troughs, nothing and nobody is perfect all the time.”

Advice for others wanting to return to teaching

Claire encourages others considering a return to trust their instincts and take the leap. “It’s better to try something, even if it’s terrifying, rather than live with the ‘what if?’ in the back of your mind.”

Her top piece of advice for anyone thinking about returning? “Take care of yourself as well as the students in your care.”

For now, she wants to see greater understanding of the complex pressures teachers face. “We are facing the pressures we always have, such as exam results and competition between schools, alongside new pressures such as falling attendance and technology. 

“We rely on the crucial link between home and school working as it should, with parents supporting their children’s learning.”

Returning to teaching might be easier than you think. If you’re qualified to teach and interested in getting back into the classroom, support is available. Find out how the Department for Education can help return to teaching. There is also a step-by-step guide available to support your return.

For details on further support DfE provides to schools, see ‘About the Department for Education’ below.

About the Department for Education

The Department for Education is responsible for children’s services and education, including early years, schools, higher and further education policy, apprenticeships and wider skills in England.

The department has been taking action to help schools support teachers with:

• improving workload and wellbeing

• looking after their mental health

• enabling flexible working opportunities

• putting in place behaviour hubs

• curriculum planning and delivery

Ofsted recently held an open consultation on a revised inspection framework and methodology, including proposals for a school report card to be introduced later this year.

About the author

Rebecca Roberts is a writer, editor, and content marketing expert hailing from Leeds. Here at Mumsnet, she commissions, writes, and edits to bring parents content designed to make life easier. Beyond her role as an editor here at Mumsnet, Rebecca can be found balancing life as a working mum of two and when she’s not at her desk, you’ll likely find her at a PTA meeting, at a coffee shop or walking her two dogs up and down country lanes.

*Name has been changed to protect identity